SALLA – Stories from the Middle of Nowhere - Episode 5 – When Borders Changed

Some places change because time passes.

Others change almost overnight.

Episode 5 of SALLA – Stories from the Middle of Nowhere explores the moment when war changed not only the lives of people in Salla, but the map itself.

Before the Second World War, the municipality extended much farther east. Under the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, large areas of eastern Salla were ceded to the Soviet Union. Approximately 49 percent of the former municipality's territory was lost, including the old municipal centre and the original Sallatunturi.

For the families who lived there, the changing border meant evacuation, separation from their homes and eventually the realization that many would never return permanently.

But memories crossed the new border.

Village names survived.

Stories were passed to children who had never seen the places their parents and grandparents remembered.

After the wars came reconstruction. Salla rebuilt, and life continued in a landscape carrying far more history than its quiet forests reveal today. Sallan sota- ja jälleenrakennusajan museo documents this progression from pre-war Kuolajärvi through the war years and into reconstruction.

Further reading:
Salla Museum of War and Reconstruction
Visit Salla – war history and historical sites

Next: Episode 6 – Where It All Began

Where did your own story begin?

Written, Narrated & Produced by
Aaro Luukinen

A Documentary Series from Lähtökohta Podcast

Intro Music:
"Way Back Home" — Simon Herody